LM3886 vs LM3875, difference in sound?

[Circlotron]

Could someone direct me to a thread or point me to an article about the differences in sound between these two power amp IC's? Thanks.

 

[capslock]

In both power rating and distortion plots, the 3886 appears to be superior. However, ever since people like Thorsten Loesch claimed the 3875 was so good, most posters also say tht 3875 sounds better.

 

[pinkmouse]

I actually prefer the OPA chips

But, in my (subjective!) testing I found that the 3866 was good, but sounded slightly compressed, sort of like an FM pop station, but not quite that severe. I think if used in a GC it might require more capacitance on the rails than a 3875 at a guess...

 

[Circlotron]

In both power rating and distortion plots, the 3886 appears to be superior. However, ever since people like Thorsten Loesch claimed the 3875 was so good, most posters also say tht 3875 sounds better.

Thanks capslock & pinkmouse. On paper the 3886 does indeed look better and yet it gets nowhere near as much attention as the 3875, so I just had to ask the question. Strange. Hmm....

 

[carlmart]

Jeff Rowland

In spite of all that might be said on the 3886, that is the version that Jeff Rowland picked for his amplifiers.

Perhaps in bridged and parallel arrangements, and with plenty of capacitance, he gets them to sound good.



Carlos